David Mudd

8-30-2004

Faith

Holden Caulfield

            Holden Caulfield has faith in many different people and things.  He was faith in his old teacher, enough to think about staying at his house for lodging.  He has faith that his sexually competent friend is more knowledgeable about sex than Holden does.  He has faith that the world will continue to produce phonies and he has faith in his Dream catcher job.  Yet all this faith is misplaced.  The teacher watches Holden as he sleep.  The friend is more horny than knowledgeable.  The world produces more than phonies, and his dream job will never exist. 

The question is not does Holden Caulfield have faith?  It is “Is Holden Caulfield a man of faith?”  The answer to that question is maybe.  He does have some well-placed faith, but it seems like he seldom acts upon this faith.  Oddly, although trying to repel all the phonies it is the phonies that Holden often has faith in. 

One person he seems to have well placed faith in is his sister.  At times her actions cause Holden to strongly develop his faith.  When she is on the merry-go-round Holden realizes that he can’t be the Catcher in the Rye, since the positions never did and never will exists.  Instead, he realizes that he must have faith that things happen for a reason, while realizing that there is a difference between having faith in something and being ignorant. 

All this faith and Holden Caulfield may still not be a man of faith.  His faith does seem to be developing.  At first, he seems to have faith minimal, misplaced faith.  He has a tendency to never think ahead, thinking of only what is relevant for the time being.  He gets kicked out of school, and doesn’t even seem to care.  To me, this shows a lack of faith.  Although he is kicked out he continues with his life in his normal way, against society.  Ironically, he considers educated people as phony, although he is the dropout.  When he is forced to see his lack of motivation and skills, he considers it an annoyance. 

            While Holden is developing his faith he tends to consider his own logic as fact.  Instead of considering other viewpoints, he dismisses them as having a lack of total understanding.  Actually, Holden gains faith rather quickly, but it takes him a while to be able to gain it.  It is as if he will not trust his faith, since it goes against the idea that everybody is a phony.  So, is Holden Caulfield a man of faith? The answer, in my opinion, is yes.